By Barry Holbrook: Carl Frampton (28-2, 16 KOs) is already planning towards a unification fight against WBC super featherweight champion Oscar Valdez is he’s victorious this Saturday night against WBO 130-lb champion Jamel Herring (22-2, 10 KOs) at the Caesars Palace Dubai, in Dubai.
Frampton and Herring will be battling it out in the main event on ESPN+ this Saturday. We’ve already heard Frampton say many times in the lead-up to the fight that he’ll retire if he loses.
Additionally, Frampton believes the 35-year-old Herring will retire as well if he gets beaten. With older fighters coming out of retirement to make millions in exhibition bouts, why retire?
Frampton wants Oscar Valdez fight
It won’t make WBO mandatory Shakur Stevenson happy if Frampton chooses to face WBC 130-lb champion Oscar Valdez in a unification fight if he’s victorious on Saturday.
Shakur (15-0, 8 KOs) has been banking on being able to challenge Frampton for the WBO title right away and then taking that belt to face Valdez before the end of the year.
There won’t be much Stevenson can do about it if Frampton chooses to face Valdez rather than him first. As the WBO champion, unification fights come first, and Frampton would put Shakur on hold until he faces Valdez first.
There’s more money in a fight between Frampton and Valdez than against Stevenson, an unknown with the casual boxing fans.
“The respect goes out the window when I fight, and I’ll do whatever it takes to win,” said Frampton to iFL TV on his fight with Herring.
“If we could have done it in America, I wouldn’t have minded it genuinely. If we could have done it on the East Coast, which is where he’s from, I’m confident that I would have had more support than him.
“I can’t say,” said Frampton when asked if he’ll fight Shakur Stevenson next if he wins. “That’s a huge fight. He’s mandatory, isn’t he? It would have to be the fight unless something else happens.
“A fight against Oscar Valdez is another fight that excites me. But again, one fight at a time. I’m fully focused on Jamel Herring. Once I beat this guy, we can talk about Shakur or Oscar,” said Frampton.
Carl to target Herring’s body
Frampton, 5’5″, wants to go after the 5’10” Herring’s body on Saturday, as he knows this will give him a good chance of hurting him or at the very least making him drop his hands.
Carl says he’s been watching many Canelo Alvarez’s fights recently to see how he throws body shots and how he attacks his taller opponents.
Frampton has learned from watching Canelo fight, and he’s going to use that learning to attack Herring’s body on Saturday to try and get a stoppage.
Once Herring’s guard is down, Frampton will have a clear shot at landing to his head to score a knockout.
“It’s got to be a target,” Frampton said about the body of the 5’10” Herring. “I’m a lot shorter than him; he’s a bigger guy. That’s a huge target for me.
“I’ve been working on perfecting my body punching and my attacks to the body. I had stopped one guy with a body shot in 24 fights, and I’d never dropped anyone else.
“It’s obvious that’s something I’ve been working on. When you start hurting the body, some people leave their heads exposed. We’ll see what happens.
“I’ve been watching Canelo recently in how he deals with taller fighters. He’s a master at boxing, and he finds a way, doesn’t he? It’s all about how he moves his head—what a fighter. I’ve been watching loads of his fights.
“Herring is extremely dedicated,” said Frampton. “I do think it’s a mistake that he came out late. But you’ve got to expect the absolute best of him.
“Jamel Herring is a fighter that was targeted after the Warrington defeat by MTK, by Top Rank,” said Frampton about him wanting to try and become a three-weight world champion. “That’s part of the reason for the big comeback,” said Frampton.
